


Library Legacies

by YikesBikes



Category: Bleach
Genre: Books, Character Death, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Love, Love Confessions, Sad, Sad Ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:35:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28764909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YikesBikes/pseuds/YikesBikes
Summary: The first time Byakuya Kuchiki saw you he was in the Seireitei Library, you were perched atop a ladder reaching to place a book in its spot back on the shelf.The first time he realized he loved you, you were sat across from him trying to make his niece laugh by changing your facial expressions to wild exaggerations of your own invention.The first time he’d kissed you was not too long after that, in the middle of the night, after he’d accompanied you on your walk home.The first time he’d shown you his heart you’d told him he’d have yours forever.And the last time he held you in his arms was the moment his sword plunged itself into your chest.
Relationships: Kuchiki Byakuya/Reader, Kuchiki Byakuya/You
Kudos: 17





	Library Legacies

**Author's Note:**

> Hi y'all it's sad boi hours so ya girl decided to write a sad boi fic to allow others to bask in her sadness.  
> Come and be sad with me :(
> 
> Also wear a mask and continue to be safe and you...yeah YOU, stay beautiful ;)

You were perched atop the tallest ladder that you could find within the library, your arms precariously balancing several books while simultaneously trying not to topple over the stacks of shelves in front of you.

You would have been fine—had the man that was patiently waiting for you to finish not been the hottest person you had ever encountered inside the Seireitei. Consequently, your nerves were rather shot and upon realizing you were being observed you were taking extra precaution not to do anything too stupid, lest you embarrass yourself in front of this gentleman.

“I’ll be with you in one second.” You called down, hastily placing the books in their correct spots before skidding down the ladder and walking towards the man who you were startled to realize was Byakuya Kuchiki, Captain of the Sixth Division.

Eyes widening slightly, you proceeded to profusely apologize for making him wait—reiterating several times that you had not known it was him from that high up atop the ladder.

“It is not a problem. I am here to pick up a book, it should be under Kuchiki.” He said, expression remaining unchanged from the time you’d opened your mouth to the moment he’d waved off your incessant rambling.

“Okie dokie, let’s take a look here.” You mumbled to yourself, grabbing your glasses off the desk you blinked at the sudden change in focus as your eyes scanned the records for his name.

“Um…” You paused, looking at the title of the book—furrowing your eyebrows you cocked your head to the side and gave Captain Kuchiki a small frown.

“Captain Kuchiki are you sure that this is the book you’ve requested?” You prodded. Normally you didn’t have a commentary on whatever people decided to withdraw from the catalogue. However, in this case you wanted to make sure that you did not hand over a book to Byakuya Kuchiki entitled ‘ _Breastfeeding: Work. Pump. Repeat._ ’ unless Byakuya Kuchiki had specifically requested said book.

“The book is for my sister.” Byakuya responded, blinking at your uneasy expression.

Your cheeks turned bright red once the man standing in front of you made the connection of your sudden inquiry.

“Ah, I see. Well in that case you’re going to want to tell Mrs. Kuchiki-Abarai that she’ll need to invest in some coconut oil for the pain and gel pads for the inflammation.” You said, pushing your glasses farther up your nose as you stood up to go and find the book that Rukia had put aside.

“It is quite thoughtful of you to pick this up for her. I’m sure it’s helped her a lot since it is quite far from here to the Kuchiki Manor.” You chattered away, content on filling the silence.

“How do you know if these remedies you’re suggesting work? Do you have evidence to back up your claims?” Byakuya inquired.

You gave him a small fractured smile as your fingers closed around the surface of the book. Gripping it between your fingers you gave him a short and to the point response.

“My husband and child died during the Quincy invasion, but before that they were the things that I found were the most effective at reducing the discomfort of breastfeeding.” Your response was something he was not expecting for his eyes softened slightly.

“I’m sorry.” He responded, lowering his gaze to the book within your death grip.

Smiling, you thanked him for his service and walked towards him to hand him the book. After checking him out, you stood up, took off your glasses and walked him to the door.

“Well, let me know if there is anything that you need. I used to work for Captain Unohana, so I do know a few things about children and health.” You smiled, the bright light returning to your eyes as you forced yourself out of whatever dark path had eclipsed your thoughts in the minutes prior.

******

It was 3 months later that Byakuya Kuchiki found himself returning to the library where he’d first seen you. The first time he’d seen you, you were perched atop a ladder reaching to place a book in its spot back on the shelf. The second time he opened the door of Seireitei Library to find you sitting on top of your desk flipping through pages of a long forgotten book.

He didn’t mind waiting for you to notice him. It gave him ample time to observe you. When you had mentioned to him that you had previous experience with Unohana he was surprised that he hadn’t recognized you the first time. As he was walking home that day long ago he’d realized that you didn’t simply work for Unohana, you were the previous third seat of the Fourth Division.

He watched as your chest lifted and fell with every breath you took. Catching every so often when you came to a sentence in the book that was particularly interesting. The curve of your neck arched into a sharp jaw that grew into the fullness of your overall face. Your eyes curved where the crinkles of smile lines lifted your expression.

It struck him as odd that he was picking up on these little details now, but he attributed it to your bookish nature. If you had been more boisterous to begin with than he would have noticed these things the moment that he’d met you.

Suddenly, your head shot up—as if you’d just realized there was someone else in the room besides yourself.

“Captain Kuchiki! What can I do for you? Did you tell your sister about the coconut oil?” You asked, placing the book down beside you on the desk before hopping off and walking around it to take a seat.

“I did.” Byakuya responded, wanting to elaborate that Rukia had been beyond thrilled by the suggestion—even going so far as to personally want to thank you. However, it had been nearly a month since Ichika was born and his sister and brother-in-law had barely slept. So he graciously offered to visit the Library in order to thank you on behalf of his sister.

“She wanted to come and thank you herself, however her daughter is quite the handful at the moment and she is rarely offered time to sleep.” Byakuya explained to you, while you fiddled with the little tassel on your bookmark.

“Is she having trouble sleeping?” You mused, eyes darkening as you were lost in the memory of your baby boy and his frequent late night cries. “You should try going out on night walks with her. The rhythm calms them down and the air helps to relax them enough to sleep.”

Byakuya’s eyes widened minutely. He hadn’t come here expecting you to have another solution, and yet here you were. Offering him advice that would help his family. Selflessly putting your pain and loss at the forefront of your mind in order to help a complete stranger—for you hadn’t even met Rukia.

“Don’t look so surprised Captain. I was quite skilled as a healer, plus my son had the same problem.” You tease, giggling at yourself, trying to force the pain out of your heart.

Byakuya recognized grief. He experienced it himself, which is why he knew what it meant for you to keep dredging up these memories. Looking at you thoughtfully, he decided that he was would ask you a personal question. However, before he could open his mouth you were rambling, again.

“I am not some delicate flower that will break at the mention of my dead husband and child. It has been nearly a decade. Now, what is it that you would like to know—I’m surprised you’re this curious, from what I remember you were something of a cold fish?” You chuckled at the last part, once again poking fun at him from your spot at your desk.

“Do you talk about them with everyone that you meet here in the library?” Byakuya questioned. “I only ask, because I’ve found that when one internalizes grief it has a way of festering and growing. There are ways that you can avoid that so it would be helpful if you had someone to talk to.” He elaborated.

“I’m talking to you.” You said quietly, glancing up at him meekly from your spot.

Byakuya didn’t say anything for a moment but after several seconds of silence, and detailed thoughts, he’d decided.

“I will be taking my niece for a while in order to allow my sister more time for sleep. Would you like to accompany me on a walk, as it would be a good time to test this theory you have about walking with infants.”

Byakuya did not know why he suddenly felt his heart skip a beat but the moment that you agreed to go with him he’d felt the feeling stutter and relax, a pleasant feeling resting in its place.

Nodding his head, he turned to leave, but before he could you stopped him with a hand.

“This is for you. Sometimes I find books that I think my customers would like based on their personalities. I thought that you might enjoy reading this.” You held up the long forgotten book you’d been reading earlier and placed it in his hands before turning and walking towards the door to see him out.

“Until next time.” Byakuya said, nodding at you as he exited the building. The pleasant feeling ebbing away the farther he got from the library, and from you.


End file.
